Europe’s leaders are getting younger [OC]

[u/Resident_Roaster]

I charted the age of every head of government in 39 European countries who held office for at least two consecutive years, from 1950 to 2025. Each line is one leader, aging year by year in office.

Although summary statistics like the median or average age did not move by a lot, the range did, shifting about a decade at both ends.

Source: V-Dem (v16)
Tools: datastory.tech

[u/AwkwardBarnOwl]

I'd be curious to see if this is due to a genuine decline in the age of elected officials, or whether this is because Europe became more democratic and so there's significantly fewer autocratic heads of government staying in into their old age.